Services Depression
Our Approach
Major Depression
Do you ever feel that you are not like yourself? Do you sometimes feel you can’t get off the couch or out of bed? Have you ever felt “I should be able to handle this?” Sometimes people say “just love yourself, or just stop thinking depressive thoughts”, as if somehow you brought this on yourself. You might not understand why you feel tired all the time and you have difficulty starting or following through on projects. Have you ever felt that putting on a brave face is exhausting?
Major depression occurs frequently and can, like anxiety, be disabling. It is not just having a bad day or just a sad day but a whole mind-body experience where a person has a host of symptoms that can interfere with their daily living.
The negativity that accompanies depression is not understood by the person experiencing it. Part of this process of recovery is through awareness of a person’s thoughts and feelings and rather than judging those thoughts, instead finding compassion and empathy for one’s self. To notice body sensations in the form of body tension and understand our body is like a sensor that informs us that something is unsettling or painful and the response needs to be mindfulness and compassion.
When your mind gets stuck on worry, self-criticism, self-hatred, or an intolerable future, it’s hard to imagine having a satisfying life. It’s also very easy to blame yourself or assume something is wrong with you.
Our culture is great at showing people how to acquire stuff, but not how to deal with fear or other difficult emotions. If “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” were actually that easy, wouldn’t you just do it?
To make matters worse, when self-help gurus and click-bait articles urge you to choose joy, visualize your dreams, think positive, like yourself, and let go of negative thinking, you’ll probably end up feeling like a failure — which will just make you more depressed!
Take Your Life Back From Depression
Therapy is a process that can elevate mood, bring back clarity, focus, and energy. John helps people understand their critical or judgmental thoughts and feelings by being able to check in with their body tension. Also, he helps them shift their mind from black and white judgmental thinking to a place of curiosity and kindness to self and others. Rather than reactivity, the person struggling with depressed mood begins to notice and move from reactivity to reflection. This move from being self-critical to being open and self-aware is the goal as well as developing a deep desire to practice being kind to one’s self.
Here are some of the most common signs of depression.
- Difficulty making decisions. When you are depressed, it can be very hard to make even simple decisions. Little things that you don’t normally think about become hard — like deciding whether to have eggs or oatmeal for breakfast.
- Unexplained physical problems. Things like chronic pain and constant stomach aches with no physical cause can be a sign of depression.
- Irritability. Agitation and irritable mood is a common sign of depression, especially in children and teens.
- Persistent feelings of sadness. A crushing feeling of sadness that doesn’t go away after two weeks could be a sign of depression. Everyone feels sad from time-to-time. However, with depression, the feeling of sadness prevents you from doing things that you normally do, like going to work. You might call in because you feel down in the dumps. Or you might binge eat a quart of ice cream to bring up your mood. Those are signs that it is depression.
- Social isolation. Depression can cause you to become isolated from friends and family. People with depression may seem distant and isolated.
- A crippled sense of self-worth. Depression causes self-worth to plummet.
- Exhaustion. When you are depressed, even minor exertion can cause extreme fatigue. Depression can make it hard to even get out of bed in the morning.
- No interest in enjoyable activities. With depression, you no longer care about doing the activities you used to enjoy. If yoga used to be the highlight of your day, but you haven’t been in a month or you could care less about your favorite television show, depression could be the cause of your disinterest in these things you used to love.
- Significant weight gain or loss. Have you recently lost a lot of weight? Maybe you no longer enjoy eating. A lack of appetite is common in depression, which can cause weight loss. Conversely, depression can cause some people to overeat, leading to weight gain.
- Restlessness or agitation. Depression sometimes causes agitation and restlessness. If you are depressed, you might feel wound up or fidgety. These sensations can make it hard to relax and interrupt sleep.
- Sluggishness. Psychomotor retardation is one sign of depression. Psychomotor retardation can cause a person to move slower than normal. It might take longer to perform tasks. Psychomotor retardation can also affect speech, causing a person to speak slower, as well.